Waterproof clothing has until the present time been constructed either from coated fabric such that it is absolutely windproof and waterproof, or from fabric with a membrane that keeps water (such as rain) from penetrating the fabric from the exterior but which is, to some degree, permeable to vapor such as that created by the human body under exertion. However, neither material allows substantial amounts of heat or moisture to move from the interior to the exterior of clothing constructed from the material. The result is that heat and moisture will accumulate within a very short time when the user is active. This in turn results in overheating, a drop in performance, and the wearer becoming wet from moisture condensing inside the clothing. Conversely in a colder environment, the wearer sweats during active times then the dampness remaining on the wearer's body over chills the body during rest periods. The term clothing as used in the description of the present invention relates to jackets, trousers, shirts, and headgear.
Other methods have been developed to allow for the venting of wind and waterproof clothing while preventing the intrusion of rain. U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,767 to Jaeger discloses a ventilation system for clothing utilizing a shingled construction. However, this system is expensive to construct and is very limited in the range of materials that can be used.
Similarly, Japanese Patent No. 2008038323 Fukuyama Teruyoshi discloses a similar shingled construction to create ventilation, but suffers from the same drawbacks as Jaeger.
Another method of allowing for ventilation while preventing rain from penetrating is US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0242149 to Mickle et al., which discloses a series of vents using spacer materials as baffles to allow air flow while keeping rain water out. This approach, however, is expensive to construct, can only use a limited range of materials and is bulky.
The prior-art techniques attempt to prevent the intrusion of water while allowing for the venting of vapor. But the prior methods have a number of disadvantages: a) the construction costs of creating the vents using elaborate combinations of materials are prohibitive; b) the shingled construction with multiple layers of materials creates added bulk that feels awkward and constrains movement; c) the amount of air flow through the vents is limited by the various meshes it has to pass through; and d) the designs limit the range of materials that can used to create the clothing.